1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to accessories and methods for marking mailboxes, and in particular, to equipment and techniques for illuminating the markings.
2. Description of Related Art
People use house numbers to identify their house from others on the street. Identifying a house is important for visitors and especially important should emergency personnel (police, firefighters, etc.) need to quickly find the house. People will place house numbers on the side of the building facing the street for maximum visibility. For his visibility at night, house current may be used to power a light to illuminate the house number.
Often mailboxes are detached from the house and mounted on a post near the curb or street. Then, the mail delivery person need not walk from the street to the front of the house, which can be a long walk, especially in rural areas. The post supporting the curbside mailbox is typically an upright post with a horizontal cantilevered arm. The mailbox is attached by driving screws through a lower apron of the mailbox into the cantilevered arm. This type of mailbox is usually a box with a cylindrical roof integral with a pair of parallel sidewalls. A hinged door in the front of the mailbox can be opened to deliver/retrieve mail.
Marking a house number on such a mailbox is especially helpful since the number is very close to passerbys, who need not search the front of a house to find an often obscure house number. On the other hand, illuminating the house number marked on such a mailbox is difficult because of its distance from the house where electrical power is available. One can run power cables from the house to the curbside mailbox but such an installation is expensive, requires specialized skills and materials, and can be pose safety hazards.
Also, even if one is willing to route electrical power from the house, one must modify the mailbox to include a light or replace the mailbox with one originally manufactured with a light.
See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,5460,325; 5,522,540; 5,649,378; 6,299,325; 6,629,766; 6,708,876; 6,719,193; and 6,964,366; as well as US Patent Application Publication Nos. 2006/0118609 and 2007/0006496